Class of 2019 Parents Facebook Page

[BuckeyeGuy]

This is a page for the parents who have a Dear Son (DS) and/or Dear Daughter (DD) appointed to United States Merchant Marine Academy. Through acceptance of the appointment, onto preparing and enduring Indoc, surviving the rigorous academics, a year at sea, and onto graduation – we will be here to support you and provide you with information. This page is limited to parents or guardians only and is not meant for the general public.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1600051296883229/

Welcome to the KP Family!

 

[17TexasMom]

I just wanted to “pile on” here and make sure that any parent(or guardian) that has a possible plebe candidate for the Class of 2019 to feel very welcome to join Facebook page (link above). I know that when my DS was thinking about USMMA I read every single entry in this forum that would help me determine “what he might be getting into”; however when you start asking questions like “What the heck is a TWIC ,card and where can I get one? “ and “What if I can’t take my kiddo to INDOC, is there someone else going that he/she can get a ride from the hotel to the academy on June 30th?” <---- These questions can only (and will be) asked and answered on a Parents Facebook page. Plus , USMMA is such a small environment you will be surprised on Parents Weekend how many faces you recognize from the chats that you have had on the FB Page. So if that is not enough ammunition to encourage you to break down and join the page maybe your spouse will.
Come join us – we have fun - - proudly an Admin of the USMMA Class of 2019 Parent’s Page

OH.... AND WELCOME ABOARD - IT'S A LOVELY ROUGH RIDE!!!

 

[beyond]

Beyond's opinion on the parents facebook page:

Take it all with a huge grain of salt. There are some pros but generally it is a lot of hand wringing about things that parents have no control over a usually don't understand.

Looking at the 2019 page, most of the parents that are on it now appear to be 2018 parents. They're a great resource for a lot of questions like "What is indoc like?" and "What is parents weekend all about" blah blah blah. In a lot of ways they are the experts on the subject because their kids have gone through the plebe thing more recently than anyone else has. The technical issues faced here are fresh in their minds and they know how to deal with them.

What the parents facebook pages are really bad at is dealing with new challenges that get thrown at midshipmen, like admirals getting fired and government shut downs. Parents, especially plebe parents lack the institutional memory to predict how things will play out. Some of the advice that gets dished out just kind of misses the mark, it's usually very genuine but unless you understand the present mechanics of KP you just don't have the experience to know how to tackle new issues. A lot of time the gouge about something is transmitted from a plebe, to a parent, who blasts it around the internet as fact. It is a game of telephone and words get twisted. Usually your son/daughter will know best, or will have an upperclassman they trust to seek out advice from.

The parents facebook should just be another tool for involvement in your kids experience. Just understand that everyone there has the same perspective, being a plebe parent and so the discussion there has a unique flavor.

 

[17TexasMom]

Yes, all of the above about the FB page can be correct and undeniably comes with it's share of "hand wringing", but sending an offspring to USMMA is a "hand wringing" experience. I refuse to declare "FB vs. this forum" a competition. This forum is the place to attend when the big picture is a stake. The FB pages are class specific so that the parents can post questions and get answers that are more specific to the details with no threat of a flame...or the risk of being called a "spammer".
There is no way I would trade the knowledge I got here at this forum for the support of the FB parents page; and I appreciate all the time that the contributors spend on here to answer questions. I just don't think it is an either/or choice.
You have to admit that before the FaceBook pages became popular this forum was much more active, and had it's moments of conversations that were more fun than a full length movie (popcorn anyone?), but possibly sounded a bit like a the game of telephone. I am not sure that is a good thing, but that how the resources have evolved, so please don't bash the resources when our end goal is the same...I hope.

 

[kp2001]

The problem with "closed" pages is that one misses out on a very large group of people who may be able to provide a different perspective.

I think they do have their place as open forums aren't a great place to look for a friendly taxi share or things like that.

They also help prevent issues when a parent may ask a question that could potentially "emberass" their midshipmen as it hopefully doesn't go beyond the page.

 

[bunnylady]

I absolutely agree with kp2001, 17TexasMom, BuckeyeGuy, and Beyond. Both forums (the USMMA Service Academy Forum and closed Facebook pages) have their place and a wise person utilizes all their resources. I am an Advisor for the 2019 USMMA Parents page, a member of the 2018 USMMA Parents page, and have used this site as a resource since the moment my daughter started looking at USMMA. My daughter has checked this place out too. I actually chuckled at Beyond's comments, spoken as a true eye-rolling son. He is correct about the information coming from a plebe to a parent can be confusing, but that was the wonderful thing about the closed group with the upper parents helping pour oil over troubled waters. My daughter and I both have discussed the importance of having separate pages, and yet we are grateful for all the assistance each has provided. Good luck to all of you now going through the process.